I have a credit card account with citibank and haven't paid. A "law' office contacted me saying that payment has to be paid in full and I dont have any payments options. They said that my student loans i have with them too they can turn them into default as of consequence of this debt. I told them to do what they have to do because paying in full is not an option for me now. What can they do about it? is it true about my school loans? can i still make payments to stop this?
They always get loud and offensive like if you were scum.
2007-02-16 12:39:49 · 6 answers · asked by G M 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
You are confusing "law" office with breaking the law.
Yes they can sue you, no they cannot prosecute you. It is not "illegal" to not pay your debts, they are just trying to intimidate you.
As for the student loans, I don't know. You would need to pull the student loan paperwork and read it to see what can happen.
Do yourself a favor and the next time they call tell them you want to be contacted only in writing and that you are recording the call. Then when you get a letter with an address and contact name for the law firm (collector) send them a letter telling them you can only pay $X per month and send them the check. Write the CItibank account number and the words "As agreed" on the memo line. Keep really good track of what you pay and whatever you agree to make sure you make the payment.
That way if they sue you in court and the judge sees that you attempted to come to a reasonable settlement he may allow you to continue it.
Good luck.
2007-02-16 13:09:55 · answer #1 · answered by Gem 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Prosecute means CRIMINAL charges. Creditors can never prosecute you. They can sue you in civil court. Legally, the CAN sue if you pay anything less than the minimum payment. As long as threats are getting money out of you, they won't actually sue unless they have reason to believe you can pay much more than you are. I'm pretty sure they are lying about the student loans, unless you are behind on those payments as well.
2007-02-16 21:13:33 · answer #2 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would write a letter outlining what your situation is. Make a small payment every month say $10 saying that is the only way you can afford to pay. If they are really thinking about taking you to court no Judge would rule against you if your making an attempt
to pay.
These banks and creditcard companies right off millions a year. Remember what ever you owe it has to be worth the recovery costs to the bank. A few nasty letters and a phone call every day
won't cost them much if they can they'll try to recover that way.
Be careful they don't sell your debt, this is common practice.
(you owe me $1000, i cant get it i sell it to my big mate, he gives me $700 and comes after you for $850 to settle)
Just hang in there its stressful but you'll be fine. These companies are such shits..
2007-02-16 21:11:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry that you are having trouble. Citibank from what i have dealt with are scum...But yes they can prosecute you. If they wont set up an monthly payment plan really the best thing i can tell you is to seek an Attorney to look at your options..Good luck !!!!
2007-02-16 20:53:34 · answer #4 · answered by Iroc Z man 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember they will threaten you any way they can think of. There #1 goal is to get you to send them money. As long as you are showing good faith and sending them 5.00 a month there is nothing to worry about. Even if you don't pay them a dime chances of them trying to recover it through the legal system is highly unlikely. Sure they want the money however they make BILLIONS annually and eventually they will write it off. All of them turn it over to LAWYERS. These LAWYERS are only like your common debt collectors.
2007-02-16 21:00:39 · answer #5 · answered by Art 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh don't worry they won't prosecute you even if you don't pay them. Creditors like to scare people. They'll say anything to you to get the money you owe. All of them are rude. They'll be nice to you at first but once you say that you won't pay them the full amount they'll harass you and threaten you but they won't they're all talk. They told me that i had to pay them in full and once i said i couldn't they threataned to take me to court and that was like 4 years ago and they havn't taken me to court yet. They just call me like 5 times a day. But think about it, it would cost them money to take you to court so they won't. Just ignore them and have you're number change if you have to. But don't listen to anything they have to say because they're all lyers.
2007-02-16 21:00:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋